This is France
La Nuit de Jazz had begun, and the amphitheater in the park was surprisingly full. A few rows in front of us, a young boy greeted his friends, "Salut," he said, just slightly too loud. An older man in front of him immediately turned around, scowling, and scolded him. "Be quiet!" he said, "I'm listening to the concert!"
That's interesting, we thought. It's an outdoor concert with hundreds of people. A teen saying hello doesn't seem so bad....
That's interesting, we thought. It's an outdoor concert with hundreds of people. A teen saying hello doesn't seem so bad....
Engulfed in the beauty of the music, a woman in front of us sitting with one ankle crossed over her knee was unaware of the couple next to her trying to leave. Rather than quietly saying, "Excuse me," or tapping her on the shoulder, the exiting woman simply ran into the woman's foot until she moved it.
Really? We looked at each other. As we stood to leave just a few minutes later, the couple blocking our path may have possibly taken a breath in as an attempt to move out of our way in the narrow aisle.
This is France.
In a room of 16 people, primarily high school students, the question was posed: How many of you watch TV every day? Surprisingly, only 1 person raised his hand.
Are you surprised? I'm certain it would have been nearly the opposite statistic had we been in the United States.
Sometimes we forget that we live in a foreign country; other times it is blatantly obvious....
Really? We looked at each other. As we stood to leave just a few minutes later, the couple blocking our path may have possibly taken a breath in as an attempt to move out of our way in the narrow aisle.
This is France.
In a room of 16 people, primarily high school students, the question was posed: How many of you watch TV every day? Surprisingly, only 1 person raised his hand.
Are you surprised? I'm certain it would have been nearly the opposite statistic had we been in the United States.
Sometimes we forget that we live in a foreign country; other times it is blatantly obvious....
The other night we had a small "emergency" when Jordan sliced his finger with the bread knife. It wasn't a life threatening (or even a finger threatening) cut, but we had no antibacterial cleanser at our house, and we didn't know if the cut would require stitches. We had a dilemma. We needed a second opinion, but it was nearly 10pm. Nothing is opened at 10pm - nothing. What should we do?
Eventually we ended up at the ER simply because we didn't know where else to go. There is one pharmacy that is opened late each night, but when we called the number there was no answer.
This is France.
Even the ER entrance gate was closed when we left at 11:30pm.
C'est la vie.
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